THE region’s health professionals got a first hand account of the horrors of domestic violence as they looked to provide better care for victims and survivors.
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Hunter New England Health staff came together in Tamworth yesterday with an aim to “increase their knowledge and capabilities when approaching clients and their families who are dealing with issues of domestic and family violence”.
Author and domestic violence survivor Lani Brennan spoke of her experiences and said youth intervention was key to stemming abuse.
“There’s a lot of youth prevention from 12 to 18 years but they seem to forget the younger ages,” Ms Brennan told The Leader.
Ms Brennan said she hoped sharing her story with the region’s health professionals would help them find their drive for helping abuse survivors.
The advocate said she was going to push for a support group to be established in Tamworth.
“I’ve only been here seven weeks and I’ve looked at little things here and there, but I’d love see a support group,” she said.
She firmly believes a “problem shared is a problem halved”and said that even being able to listen to the stories of others could bring comfort.
While a spotlight has shone brightly on domestic violence in recent years, Ms Brennan believed not much has changed in terms of attitude at “grassroots levels”.
“[The]White Ribbon campaign; yeah it’s good, but it’s one day a year,” she said.
“Does everyone want to jump up and down one day a year, when we should be jumping up and down every day of the year.”
Hunter New England executive director of Rural and Regional Health Services Susan Heyman hoped the forum would eventually illuminate pathways to further assistance for abuse victims and survivors.
“We’ve got staff from the emergency departments, from wards, from community health services, drug and alcohol services, mental health,” she said.
“It’s about asking the questions and setting up the pathways to get some assistance.
“They might need housing or some financial help, or they might need legal help.
“So it’s about directing people to the right place.”
While there are some “incredibly good services” available, Ms Heyman said there weren’t enough and more barriers existed for more remote clients.
